Storage Buyer’s Guide - SSD For The Masses (Part 2)

SanDisk Extreme II 240GB

The new kid on the block

Price: $239

SanDisk is one of the largest manufacturers
of flash memory on our little planet, yet their past SSDs have failed to match
the leaders of the pack. The Extreme II is the company’s latest attempt to
catch up, and it looks like SanDisk might finally be on to something.

SanDisk
Extreme II 240GB

Using a Marvell controller instead of
SandForce helps differentiate it from other SSDs and it’s paired with memory
that uses a unique mode known as nCache, which is intended to increase
performance. Our benchmarks indicate that this hardware combination delivers
solid performance, near the top of the pack for read speed but hovering around
the middle for write. Unfortunately, the newness of the drive means its price
is a little inflated, with the price of 99s per Gigabyte not quite as
competitive as Samsung’s older 840. Give it a few months and it should drop
though, which will make the Extreme II a contender for your PC.

Verdict: 8/10

SanDisk Ultra Plus 256GB

Cheaper than chips

Price: $189

SanDisk
Ultra Plus 256GB

Given the name, we expected this SSD to
perform even better than SanDisk’s Extreme II, as Ultra indicates the top of
the tier. Powering the drive is Marvell’s SS889175 SSD controller, a chip
designed for low power usage, suggesting this drive is primarily intended for
mobile PCs. On the desktop we don’t give a damn about such things, where our
limitless power supply means performance is king. It’s paired with SanDisk’s
own MLC NAND memory, which is built using a cutting-edge 19 nanometer process.
Again, this smaller process should help with power savings. Unfortunately
performance isn’t competitive compared to the faster drives, with a write speed
about 15% slower than the best. However, at a price of just 74c per Gigabyte,
by far the cheapest in the roundup, this gap is easy to accept. If you’re
looking for decent performance at rock bottom prices, the Ultra Plus is the SSD
for you.

Verdict: 8/10

Seagate 600 240GB

Seagate arrives at the SSD party

Price: $275

Seagate
600 240GB

Seagate has been one of the biggest
mechanical drive makers for years, but has been conspicuously absent from the
SSD market since its inception. It has finally decided to see what all the fuss
is about, releasing its first SSD in the Seagate 600, almost half a decade
after everybody else. Can they catch up to companies with years of experience?
The surprising answer to that question is…almost. The Link_A_Media Devices
controllers power this drive to the front of the pack for read performance, but
write performance is definitely lacking. Combine this with the highest price of
all SSDs in the roundup, at $1.15 per Gigabyte, and there’s very little reason
to buy the Seagate 600. However, considering it’s the company’s first attempt
at an SSD, it could have gone a lot worse. If they can start off this well, we
can’t wait to see what Seagate has in store for its second and third generation
products.